DE 10 2010 018 044 A1 has disclosed an arrangement for the mounting of a suspension spring of a spring strut for a motor vehicle, and the arrangement comprises, as a central element, a spring plate which is arranged on a damper tube of a vibration damper of the spring strut, such that an end side of the suspension spring, shown in the figures by the lower end side, is supported on the spring strut. The upper end side of the suspension spring is mounted in a damper bearing. The damper tube is a constituent part of a vibration damper, and a piston rod extends out of the damper tube, which piston rod is protected by way of a protective element. The protective element is in the form of a corrugated bellows and is held on a cap which is arranged on the end of the damper tube.
The protective cap serves for preventing the ingress of contaminants and moisture into the region in which the piston rod is led out of the damper tube. The closure element for leading the piston rod out of the damper tube is referred to as closure assembly, and comprises a stripper and seals and guide elements for the piston rod. Without the protective element, contaminants would accumulate on the piston rod and damage the closure assembly, which can lead to failure of the vibration damper.
The fact that the protective element is held on the cap and thus on the end side of the damper tube of the vibration damper necessitates a special design of the cap of pot-shaped form, which yields disadvantages in the mounting of the cap that must be arranged on the damper tube. At the same time, the lower end of the protective element must be arranged on the cap, for which purpose the cap comprises an outer shell region on which a spring tongue, a spreading element, a stop surface and further features are required. The construction of the cap is thus quickly made complicated, and can be produced only with increased outlay. The cumbersome construction of the cap arises exclusively owing to the fact that it holds the protective element, without which the cap could be of much simpler design. The cap basically serves for forming a stop for a stop buffer, which dampens an end stop during the retraction of the piston rod into the damper tube.